Last updated:Â 13 november, 2009 - 13:41 GMT
Barack Obama pledges deeper engagement with Asia
The two leaders have agreed to review their 50-year-old alliance
President Barack Obama has begun a tour of Asia with a pledge to deepen America's engagement in the region.
After talks in Tokyo with the Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, Mr Obama said he regarded the alliance with Japan as the foundation for security in the Asia-Pacific region.
But he said the two countries needed to renew the alliance in order to keep pace with the challenges of a new century.
US-Japanese relations have been strained over the American base on the island of Okinawa, but both countries are worried about North Korea's nuclear programme.
Michael Cuceck is US citizen who lives and works in Tokyo and blogs on Japanese politics and society.
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First broadcast 13 November 2009
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